Getz Ice Shelf
Encyclopedia
Getz Ice Shelf is an Antarctic ice shelf
, over 480 km (300 mi) long and from 32 to 96 km (20 to 60 mi) wide, bordering the Hobbs and Bakutis Coasts of Marie Byrd Land
between McDonald Heights and Martin Peninsula
. Several large islands are partially or wholly embedded in the ice shelf.
The ice shelf westward of Siple Island
was discovered by the USAS in December 1940. The portion eastward of Siple Island was first delineated from air photos taken by USN Operation Highjump
, 1946-47. The entire feature was mapped by the USGS from U.S. Navy air photos of 1962-65. Named by the USAS (1939-41) for George F. Getz of Chicago, Illinois, who helped furnish the seaplane for the expedition.
Ice shelf
An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ice that feeds it is called...
, over 480 km (300 mi) long and from 32 to 96 km (20 to 60 mi) wide, bordering the Hobbs and Bakutis Coasts of Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land is the portion of West Antarctica lying east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W...
between McDonald Heights and Martin Peninsula
Martin Peninsula
Martin Peninsula is a peninsula about 96 km mi long and 32 km wide that is ice covered except for a few rock outcrops along its margins, located between Getz Ice Shelf and Dotson Ice Shelf on the coast of Marie Byrd Land. The farthest point of the peninsula is Jacobsen Head.Delineated...
. Several large islands are partially or wholly embedded in the ice shelf.
The ice shelf westward of Siple Island
Siple Island
Siple Island is a long snow-covered island lying east of Wrigley Gulf along the Getz Ice Shelf off Bakutis Coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica...
was discovered by the USAS in December 1940. The portion eastward of Siple Island was first delineated from air photos taken by USN Operation Highjump
Operation Highjump
Operation Highjump , officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946-1947, was a United States Navy operation organized by RADM Richard E. Byrd Jr. USN, , Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by RADM Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68....
, 1946-47. The entire feature was mapped by the USGS from U.S. Navy air photos of 1962-65. Named by the USAS (1939-41) for George F. Getz of Chicago, Illinois, who helped furnish the seaplane for the expedition.
See also
- DeVicq GlacierDeVicq GlacierDeVicq Glacier , is a large Antarctic glacier that drains the area between Ames Range and McCuddin Mountains in Marie Byrd Land and flows north to enter the Getz Ice Shelf to the southeast of Grant Island. Mapped by U.S. Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos, 1959-65. Named by...
- List of glaciers
- List of Antarctic ice shelves